Loose-leaf binder



. Sept. 30, 193Q. L 1,777,006

LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed May 21. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 "1 LOTT-ER LOOSE LEAF BINDER Fild May 21, 1928 a Sheets-Sheet 2 Adn1ph ELBML;

Sept. 30, 1930.

A. G LOTTER LOOSE LEAF BINDER File d May 21, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet ,naumlanu Adulph E L nttE11 the leaves.

come within thescope oftheclaims;

Patented Sept. 30, 1930 UNITEDSTATES mm?ewes-z ADoLrri G. LOTTER, or MiLWAITKEE, Wisconsin, ,AssIG'Non, Emmet nssfienuann rs,"

ro sm'rlonn ns Loosn LEAF 00;, or MILWAUKEE, W sconsin, A c'onieoita'rion of Wisconsin Q LOOSE-LEAF FINDER, 1

Application filedMay 21, 1928'. Serial Nb: 279,513.-

leaves are so arranged within the binder that their lower and upper edges are staggered so that data on the upper portions ,of the leaves is Visible at all'times.

In thevisible record system of bookkeeping, it is frequently necessary to insert or remove leaves from the book,-'in which. case it is necessary" to shift some of the leaves to maintain their staggered relation. at all times. Numerous devices for accomplishing this result have been proposed which are eitherexpensive tomanufacture or do not permit of great flexibility in the insertion or removal of the leaves and this invention contemplates as an object the provision of an improved binder for use in connection with visible record. systemswhich hasgreat fleXi-' bility as to theabilitytoshift one ormorer leaves in either direction upontthe removal or IDSGIUOH-OfOlJhGI leaves. i

Another ObJBCl) of this invention resides in the provision ofan improved. binder of the character described which is so constructedmechanically as to'be easily operatedland which will not be readily damaged by the rough handling to which devices of Y merals designate like parts throughout: the several views, 5 designates aJloose leaf binder "T either one or bothseries and this invention has asia further object the r provisio'n of an improved manner of mountingthe,impalingi' prongs whereby they are rotated :to stagger,

their adjacent; ends to facilitate shifting. of

With the. aboveand other objects inpview which will appear as the, description prm ceeds, my :invention resides in the noveljcon struction, combination and 'arrangement ofi' parts substantially ashereinafter described and more 'particularlydefinedby the ap-v pended claims, itbeing UIIdGI-SlJOOdllllZlUSUCl'l changes in the precise embodiment of; the

herein disclosed invention'may be ,madeas 'trating the binder closed with the prong ends staggered; a

Figure 4: is a view similar'to Figure 2 with parts broken away land -:in section ,tonillus- In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated severalcomplete examples of the physicalembodiment of my invention constructed according to the best modes I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which Figure 1 isfa top plan view of a binder embodying myvinvention with the cover and leaves in open position; v

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the binder back piece with the, covers and leaves removed and illustrating the impalingiprongs 1n open positionand swiveled prior. to being closed on each other to staggered relation; 7 V, t

Figure 3 is a viewisimilar to Figure 1. illusimpalingposition theirends in trate. details "o:t ,construction;' V c Figure 5 1s. a. transverse,-;sect1onal view,-

' taken throughFigure l on thep'laneofthe line 55;- and) v ig'urefi' is along itudinal, sectional View, taken through Figure 1 ion theplane of the line 6'6. v

V Referring'now more particularly; to the accompanying :drawings, vin which like nnback'nplate having covers 6 and, 7,,hinge'd; to its opposite edges, as at 8, the back ,platebe ing preferably formed withgits marginal edges 9;o-n alhigher plane than, its central 8Z1,

portion and being closedbyiabase plate. ljO fixed thereto byrivetsor other means '11. a i

;.The base plate-10 has .a lazytong device mounted thereon which consists of a pair, of intersecting levers 12; and l3pivotally connected attheiri point of intersection by a, rivet or, pin; :14, passing therethrough and through the back plate, base plate and a slid; ably mounted latch or locking member 15,

tobe later described. The pin 141s riveted over the baclcplatfi and the, latch member 15 and j has a spacing collar 16 t he reon to.

maintain the lazy tongv members andqthe latch member ;in.;spacedrelation, the,apertu-re ITQfthl mBmbB i hrqughlwh the pin 14 passes being elongated to permit limited longitudinal movement of the memher, as will be later described.

A pair of smaller levers or links 18 and 19 having their outer ends pivotally connected, as at 20, is connected with the levers 12 and 13 at each side of their pivotal connection 14, by rivets 21 or the like, passing through the inner ends of the levers 18 and 19 and through the levers 12 and 13, at points equispaced from the pivot pin 14," the pivots 20 passing through elongated apertures 22 in the base plate 10 to guide their movements and insure the movement of the adjacent ends of levers 12 and 13 in the same plane, as will be readily apparent.

The ends of levers 12 and 13 are pivotally connected with a pair of sidewise, movable slide plates or members 23 and 24 by rivets 25 that pass through elongated apertures 26 in the levers 12 and 13 to accommodate the necessary play and the sidewise movements of the side plates, which are maintained parallel at all times by the lazy tong device. The ends of the members 23 and 24 are guided by upwardly and inwardly directed flanges 27 and 27 on the ends of the base plate 10, the slide members being provided with downwardly extended transverse beads or ribs 28 which space them from the mounting plate a distance equal to the combinedthickness of the levers 12 and 13 and insure the proper guiding of their extreme ends29 by the end flanges 27 and 27'.

Two series of cooperating impaling prongs or rings 30 and 31 are associated with the slide members 23 and 24, respectively, the series 30 being riveted, welded or otherwise secured, as at 32, to a mounting plate 33 secured, as at 34, to the slide member 23 and having its outer marginal edge flanged downwardly, as at 35, to provide a neat external appearance and to eliminate sharp, ungainly edges. The prongs of the series 31 are riveted or otherwise secured, as at 36, to prong mounting plates 37 pivotally secured to the slide member 24 by rivets or other means 38.

A cover and prong actuating plate 39 is disposed over the series of plates 37, being pivotally connected with each plate 37 at their ends opposite the pivots 39 by pivot pins or rivets 40, the plate 39 having apertures 41, through which the prongs 31 pass. The plate 39 is slidably secured to the slide member 24 for transverse movement therewith but longitudinal movement independently thereof by rivets 42 passed through elongated slots 43 in the plate 39, the plates 37 adjacent the pivot pins or rivets 42 being cut away, as at 44, sothat their pivotal or swivel movement is not interfered with.

The plates 24 and 33 have upwardly extending lugs or tongues 45 struck from their inner edge portions adjacent each end which are adapted to be engaged in looking recesses 46 formed in raised portions 47 of the locking member 15, the lugs 45 being of a height to permit the raised portion 47 to p ass thereover when the member 15 is moved to unlocking position. The member 15 in addition to being guided by the pivot pin 14 is guided at its ends by rivets 48 and 49, the rivet 48 being fast to the base plate 10 and having a sleeve 50 thereon to maintain the proper spaced relation between the member 15 and the binder mechanism thereunder. The rivet 49 is likewise fast to the base plate and has an expansive spring 51 coiled thereabout to normally maintain the adjacent end portion of the latch member, which is on a plane substantially even with the raised portions 47 against the head 52 of the rivet 49, the rivets 48 and 49 passing through elongated slots 53 in the member 15.

The opposite sides of slot 53 adjacent the rivet 49 have portionsstruck outwardly to provide upwardly curved projections or lugs 54 normally lying in the path of the rivet head 52 when the member 15 is in its locking position with the lugs 45 in the locking recesses 46. When it is desired to move the member 15 to unlocked position the linger-engaging portion 55 on the end of the member 15 adjacent the pin 49 is depressed to flex or bend the same suflicient to position the lugs 54 beneath the head 52 and permit movement of the member 15 to unlocked position.

The horizontal portion 56 of the guide flange 27 has notches or grooves 57 and 58 in its opposite ends in which studs or lugs 59 and 60 carried by the plates 33 and 39, respectively, are adapted to engage when the binder is closed with the ends of adjacent prongs in register so that the prongs of one series form continuations of the prongs of the other. The stud 59 and a stud 61, of which the stud 60 is a continuation, form means for facilitating the separation of the impaling prongs, and the stud 61 likewise provides means for. oscillating or pivoting the series of prongs 31 to stagger their ends with respect to the ends of the adjacent impaling prongs of the other series.

The alternate prongs of each series are provided with reduced extensions or projections 62 adapted to engage in sockets or recesses, not shown, in the ends of the adjacentprongs of the opposite series when the binder is in the normal position of use illustrated in Figure 1. hen the series of prongs 31 are diagonally disposed and the binder closed in the manner illustrated in Figure 3, the ends of the impaling prongs of one series overlap, with those of the other series, as their ends are cut on a bias, so that record sheets or leaves 63 on one series of impaling prongs may be readily slid thereover onto the impaling prongs of the other series without difliculty, the sheets in moving insertion or removal of one or more leaves.

When it is desired to elfect the shifting of one or more of the leaves, the binder is opened as illustrated in Figure land the latch member operated to release the mechanism by depressing its end and moving it to the right with reference to Figure 6. The studs 59 and 61 are then engaged and moved apart to separate the series of impaling prongs and disengage the studs 59 and 60 from their recesses 57 and 58. The stud 61 is then moved inwardly to slide the plate 39 longitudinally which oscillates or moves the members 37 on their pivots 38 to dispose the impaling prongs 31 angnlarly with respect to the impaling prongs 30,-as illustrated in Figure 2. a

a The studs59and 61 are then movedtoward each other so that the prongs of the series are disposed in staggered relation with their ends overlapping, as illustrated in Figure 3, when the transfer vof the leaves from one series of prongs to the other may be readily efiected. The binder may be locked in this position by moving the member '15. to the left with respect to Figure 6 as illustrated in Figure 3.

The stud 60 engages a finger 64: at its inner side when in the positionillustrated in Figure 2, so that the shifting of the plate 39 and consequently the prongs 31 is restrained until the parts have been unlocked by operation of, the member 15 and moved to the separated position. The horizontal portion 65 of the guide 27 has its side adjacent the plate39 cut away, asvat 66, to accommodate longitudinal sliding-movement of said plate, to angularly position the prongs 31 and the slide member 24.

After the sheets have been shifted, the

binder is unlocked, theprongs separated and the plate 39 moved to straighten the prongs 31, the binder being then closed 'to interlock the ends of adjacent prongs, as illustratedin Figure 1.

From the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will'be readily apparent to those skilled .in the art to which an invention of the'character described apertains, that I provide a novel and improved binder specially adapted for use in connection with visible record systems'in which the impaling prongs are oscillated or rotated to effect the staggering of the prongs of one series with respect to the other for the purpose of shifting the record sheets; which may be readily locked in either normal closedposition or in closed position with theimpalingpron gs staggered, and one in whichthe binder must be unlocked and moved to full open position before the rotation of the prongs-can be efl'ected.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, twoseries of impaling prongs, mounting means for the series ofimpaling prongs, said mounting means being movable in a common plahetmseparate the series of impaling prongs and permit removal or addition of record leaves, and means vmountmg the impallngprongs of one series for angular movement to shift their free ends with respect to the impaling prongs of the other series to effect longitudinal shifting of the leaves with respect to each other.

:2. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base, two series of impaling prongs associated with the base, members for supporting the series of impaling prongs,

means whereby one of said members has transverse movement on the base, means pivotally mounting the impaling prongs of one series'on said last-mentioned member, and means for simultaneously moving said impaling prongs carried by the transversely movable member about theirpivotal mounting to stagger their endswith respect -to the ends .of the impaling prongs of the other series.

3. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base, :two series of impaling prongs associated with the base, members for supporting the series of impaling prongs,

member. about their pivotal mounting to stagger their ends withzrespect to the-ends of the impaling prongs of the other series,

:and means for securingthe pivotally mountedflimpaling prongs against pivotal movement when the members are closedon each 1 other.

, 4. In aloose leafbinderadapted .to contain record leaves, a base, two series ofimpaling for simultaneously moving said impaling prongs carried .by the transversely movable member about their pivotal mounting to stagger their ends with respect to the ends of the impaling prongs of the other series of impaling prongs,-1means for securing the pivotally :mounted impaling prongs against pivotal movementywhen the members are closed on each other, and means for securing the transversely movable. member; against transverse movement.

5. In alooseileaf binder adapted tocontain I record-leaves, a base member,la pair. of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement to and from a posi tion with their inner longitudinal edges adj acent, a series of impaling prongs associated with one slide member, a series of impaling prongs associated with the other slide member for movement angularly thereof, and means for simultaneously moving said impaling prongs to and from angular position.

6. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement to and from a position with their inner longitudinal edges 'adjacent, a series of impaling prongs associated with one slide member, a series of impaling prongs associated with the other slide member and movable to and from positions at an angle with the impaling prongs of the firstmentioned series, means for simultaneously moving said impaling prongs to and from said position, and means securing the secondmentioned series of impaling prongs against movement when the slide members are closed on each other.

7. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of mounting plates associated with the base member for transverse movement to and from a position with their inner longitudinal edges substantially meeting, a series of impaling prongs rigidly associated with one mounting plate, a series of impaling prongs associated with the other mounting plate and movable to and from positions at an angle with the rigidly mounted impaling prongs, means for simultaneously moving said impaling prongs to and from the said position, means securing said second-mentioned series of impaling prongs against movement when the mounting plates are closed on each other, and means for releasably securing the mounting plates with their longitudinal edges adjacent.

8. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, two series of impaling prongs associated with the base member, a slide member, and a series of mounting plates pivotally carried by said slide member, the impaling prongs of one series being fixed one to each of said mounting plates whereby pivotal movement of the mounting plates positions the impaling prongs carried thereby angularly with respect to the impal ing prongs of the other series.

9. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, two series of impaling prongs associated with the base member, a slide member, aseries of mounting plates pivotally carried by said slide member. the impaling prongs of one series being fixed one to each of said mounting plates whereby pivotal movement of the mounting plates positions the impaling prongs carried thereby angularly with respect to the impaling prongs of the other series, and means for simultaneously moving said mounting plates on their pivots.

10. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, two series of impaling prongs associated with the base member, a slide member, a series of mounting plates pivotally carried by the slide member, the impaling prongs of one series being fixed one to each of said mounting plates whereby pivotal movement of the mounting plates positions the impaling prongs carried thereby angularly with respect to the impaling prongs of the other series, means for simultaneously moving said mounting plates on their pivots, and means for transversely moving one series of impaling prongs. i

11. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement, a plurality of mounting plates pivotally carried by one slide member, a series of impaling prongs fixed one to each mounting plate at a point spaced from its pivot, a series of impaling prongs associated with the other slide memher, and means for pivoting said mounting plates to stagger the ends of said first series of impaling prongs with respect to the ends of the adjacent prongs of the second'series.

12. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement, a plurality of mounting plates pivotally carried by one slide memher, a series of impaling prongs fixed one to each mounting plate at a point spaced from its pivot, a series of impaling prongs associated with the other slide member, a cover plate member longitudinally slidably associated with the slide member supporting said mounting plates and having elongated apertures through which said first series of impalin g prongs pass, and means pivotally connecting each mounting plate with said cover plate whereby longitudinal movement of the cover plate simultaneously pivots the mounting plates to stagger the ends of said first series of impaling prongs with respect to the ends of the adjacent prongs of the second series.

13. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement, a plurality of mounting plates pivotally carried by one slide member, a series of impaling prongs fixed one to each mounting plate at a point spaced from its pivot, a series of impaling prongs associated with the other slide member, a cover plate member longitudinally slidably associated with the slide member supporting said mounting plates and having elongated apertures through which said first series of impaling prongs pass, means pivotally, connecting each mounting plate with said cover plate lllt) llfi whereby longitudinal movement of the cover plate simultaneously pivots the mounting plates to stagger the ends of said first series of impaling prongs with respect to the ends of the adjacent prongs of the second series, and means for securing said cover plate against movement.

14:. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement, a plurality of mounting plates pivotally carried by one slide member, a series of impaling prongs fixed one to each mounting plate at a point spaced from its pivot, a series of impaling prongs associated with the other slide member, a cover plate member longitudinally slidably associated with the slide member supporting said mounting plates and having elongated apertures through which said first series of impaling prongs pass, means pivotally connecting each mounting plate with said cover plate whereby longitudinal movement of the cover plate simultaneously p'ivots the mounting plates to stagger the ends of said first series of impaling prongs with respect to the ends of the adj acent prongs of the second series, means for securing said cover plate against movement when the slide members are adjacent each other, and means securing the slide members against movement apart.

15. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement to and from a position with their inner edges substantially abutting, means for guiding said slide members in their movements to and from each other, a mounting plate carried by one slide member, a series of impaling prongs carried by said mounting plate, a series of mounting plates pivotally carried by the other slide member, a second series of impaling prongs carried one by each or said pivotally mounted mounting plates, a cover plate secured over said pivotally mounted mounting plates and slidably associated with the adjacent slide member, and means connecting said cover plate with said pivotally mounted mounting plates whereby sliding of the cover plate pivots the said series of mounting plates to dispose the impaling prongs associated therewith angularly with respect to the first series of impaling prongs.

16. In a loose leaf binder adapted to contain record leaves, a base member, a pair of slide members associated with the base member for transverse movement to and from a position with their inner edges substantially abutting, means for guiding said slide members in their movements to and from each other, a mounting plate carried by one slide member, a series of impaling prongs carried by said mounting plate, a series of mounting plates pivotally carried by the other slide member, a second series of impaling prongs carried one by each of said pivotally mounted mounting plates, a

cover plate secured over said pivotally mounted mounting plates and slidably associated with the adjacent slide member, means connecting said cover plate with said pivotally mounted mounting plates whereby sliding of paling prongs, mounting means movable toward and away fromeach other in a common plane and each having one end of the prongs of one series connected therewith, and means for moving the impaling prongs of one series to position their free ends out of transverse alignment with their mounting ends to facilitate shifting of leaves- 18. In a loose leaf'binder, a base member, a mounting member movable transversely over the base member, impaling prongs having one end connected with the mounting member, and means for moving the free ends of the impaling" prongs out of transverse alignment with their mounting ends to facilitate shifting of leaves.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

ADOLPH G. LOTTER. 

